Fated Encounter
by civxlwxr
Summary: Armin warned him about the demon in the forest, but if Eren was anything, he was stubborn. There's no such thing, he thought, demon's don't exist. However, when he goes to the forest once more, there was something far worse than a demon waiting for him: a beautiful girl. AU {pre-Eremika} Eren/Mikasa


Written for Eremika Week Day 1: Fantasy/Mythology

"What? A monster in the forest?"

"Y-yeah." Armin shuddered as he relayed the town news to his friend, Eren. He lived a little ways from town, so Armin was basically his window to the rest of the world, "Some of the villagers got one look at it and bolted. Apparently it looked like a black demon with wings."

The boy continued pounding a nail into his house, "A black demon, huh.." He repeated without much thought. Noticing his friend's fear, he stopped his work to face him, "You're smart enough to know there aren't such things as demons, Armin. Don't give it much thought. You know those villagers love to spread this kind of crap."

"I-I guess you're right," Armin relented unsurely. Seeing his job done, his friend made a noise in his throat as he made his way back inside, "But Eren!" He called frantically before he could shut the door.

"What do you want, Armin?"

"I-" Armin knew Eren wasn't going to like this, "I was wondering if you would take the mountain pass instead of the forest when you travel to the castle in a few days."

As he suspected, the brown haired boy flared up in indignant anger, "Huh? And spend an extra two days traveling? No thanks."

"Eren, just listen to me! The demon-"

"The demon?! Do you obviously believe that stupid crap? I can't believe you're actually asking me that. It's just a stupid rumor!" With a scoff, the door slammed in his face.

With a sigh, Armin ran his hand over his face. He couldn't blame his friend. He knew Eren would blow if he asked, but he really did suspect something was wrong in the forest, and that the villagers were actually telling more truth than lie.

"Good luck, Eren."

.

"It's just a forest. There can't be a stupid demon in here. They don't even exist!" Eren muttered to himself over and over as the endless green came closer and closer. He'd took this path for years now, and it was always as boring as the time before.

But Armin isn't a fool, his mind whispered, he would never believe something unless it's somewhat true.

Still, like the stubborn little boy his was, he told his mind to shut up and he trudged into the forest "bravely". At first glance, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Actually, nothing seemed strange at all. Eren soon realized that there was no such thing as a demon, and that he was an idiot even to suspect.

"I can't wait to tell Armin he shouldn't go about believe everything people say," He laughed, "There isn't a demon here!"

"There isn't a what here?"

"Holy sh-" Eren tripped on his own feet in utter terror and landed rather ungracefully on his face. Spitting out some dirt, he turned around to face the voice.

Whoever called it a demon probably needed their eyes cleansed. To Eren, it was probably the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. A demon? More like an angel.

"Ah-um gah," The boy spluttered, choking over his words as he continued to stare. The midnight black hair, piercing eyes, blood red lips. Then, there were the large black wings that grew from her back. They folded back in as she made her way towards him.

She got close. Really close, almost to the point that their noses touched. Eren could smell a faint scent of lavender and strawberries wafting from her.

"You're scared," she stated flatly after a long pause.

Despite himself, he managed to retort indignantly, "I'm not scared!"

"Your legs are shaking," she pointed out patronizingly. With a quick hand, she pinched the top of his ears, causing his face to flush slightly, "and your ears are red. That means you're lying."

"Wha-" Eren pushed away from her, standing up and brushing off his pants, "You act just like my mother!"

The girl sat down on the ground nonchalantly, gazing up at him with curiosity, "What's a mother like?"

Eren felt his heart squirm uncomfortably at her choice of words, "You don't have a mom?"

She shrugged and said bluntly, "My parents were killed when I was young."

"Oh." Eren felt a feeling similar to guilt claw at his throat.

With a relenting sigh (not that he was disappointed to talk to her in the least), he sat down against the trunk of the tree, "My mother is-well...was the kindest person I ever knew."

"Was?" The girl interrupted.

"She died a few years ago, yeah."

"I'm really sorry." The girl frowned guiltily.

"Don't worry about it." He waved it off quickly, then gestured to her with his head, "Nice pair of wings you got there."

"Huh? Oh." She glanced at the midnight black wings behind her, and they fluttered involuntarily, "I think they're weird."

Eren shook his head, "They make you look special."

"Special?" She squeaked, sounding very much like a regular girl from the village.

"Yeah, they look really cool." He grinned, unknowingly scooting closer to the girl, "Kinda like the Wings of Freedom crest."

The girl looked down shyly, "You know, you can touch them, if you want," She extended a wing towards him. Eren stuttered slightly, his hand trembling as he ran his fingers through her feathers. They were warm and soft, like the goose feathers in his pillow.

He turned to her excitedly, "So you can fly, right?"

The expression she gave him wasn't excited at all, "No, one of my wings are deformed. See?" She stretched out the other wing so Eren could see a long scar that ran through it, "I got trapped in a net once, so I tore my wing to get loose." She looked so dejected that Eren couldn't help but pity her.

"I still think you're really cool, though!" He blurted out in a desperate attempt to comfort her, "Even if you can't fly, it's not everyday you see a girl with wings."

She tugged at her clothes, her wings wrapping themselves around her like a shield,"But people call me a demon because of them."

Eren scoffed, "Those people are dumb then. You're the most beautiful girl ever." He stated bluntly.

To his relief, her eyes brightened, "Really?" She asked hopefully.

He fumbled around uncomfortably, "You are!" he said roughly, "Now don't make me say it again, cause it's weird."

"A-alright."

Eren looked up at the sky and cursed, "Damn, it's late." He pushed himself up, "My dad will kill me if I don't make it to the castle by tonight."

"You're leaving?" He detected a tinge of sadness in her voice.

"Yeah," he turned his head to look at her, "But I'll be back! And maybe...I could talk to you again?"

The girl smiled, "I'd like that, yes." Suddenly, a gust of air blew through the trees causing her to shiver.

Eren frowned, "Are you cold?" She shook her head adamantly, but her body language said otherwise. Even someone as clueless as him could figure it out.

"Here," Without a second thought, he pulled off his scarf and wrapped it carelessly around her, "It's warm right?" he blushed slightly.

The girl ran her hand against the fabric before smiling at him, "Yes. It's warm."

 _Stop blushing,_ he told himself angrily.

"Hold on," he said as he made it to the outskirts of the forest, "I don't think I got your name."

Her breath hitched slightly before replying, "I'm Mikasa."

 _Mikasa, huh. What a pretty name._

"You can call me Eren."

 _I'll see you again, girl with wings. I'll come back to find you, Mikasa._

A/N: I know! I know! Terrible, but my inspiration levels were below 0 when this was crunched out. And in case you didn't notice, it was sort of inspired by Maleficent. :) 


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